The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) were relief programs intended to help support qualifying businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, both of these programs became targets for fraud; and, as a result, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) is now scrutinizing businesses in Virginia and other states that took advantage of these programs.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it is targeting businesses that have improperly claimed the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). It is conducting both audits and criminal investigations focused on uncovering fraud during the 2020 and 2021 tax years.